


what if i can't protect him?

by beware_of_you



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/F, So fair warning, emily's a soft gf, in the very beginning, it involves children, it's fluffy, it's graphic, it's not said but their relationship ending mutually, jj deserves some kind of justice, oh there's also smut, they just care about their son being happy, will and jj are still great friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-22 16:04:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22218682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beware_of_you/pseuds/beware_of_you
Summary: it's another case involving children but it hits a bit too close for jjit's basically a story about the case, how jj deals with it, how the team help jj deal with it (in a way) and has some fluff
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Emily Prentiss
Comments: 6
Kudos: 166





	1. one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is the real thing in all it's unedited, 11k+ word glory

Jennifer Jareau is a light sleeper, something that came with the years and years of being an FBI agent and the less, yet exponentially more significant and important, time and experience that came with being a mother. While her job has left her awake from images from particularly gruesome cases burned in her brain, the calls that never seemed to stop coming in or the fear that _the one who got away_ would come show up in her house, motherhood has taught her more innocent noises to listen out for: the soft coos and cries of an infant who wants attention or needs changed, the pitter patter of little feet running in her halls, a soft "Mommy?" whispered at her bedside whenever Henry would wake from his own nightmares.

But it's not her job that wakes her, nor is it her child bouncing up onto the mattress to get her up for another day (he's at his dad's house for the week, anyway).

Instead, it's the feeling of chilled morning air over her bare legs, long, silky hair dancing across her stomach, of soft lips pressing kisses on her inner thighs, a warm tongue teasingly drawing shapes there until it slowly, meticulously flicks at her clit over the barrier of cotton underwear.

The blonde opens her eyes with a soft gasp at the feeling, sleepily glancing down at her bedmate, who greets her with a warm, lazy smile, her slender yet strong arm looped around her thigh, light kiss planted on the skin there before the warm skin of her cheek rests against her leg. "Good morning," she murmurs in a voice heavily rough with sleep, her forefinger casually brushing over the blonde through her underwear.

JJ brushes the dark locks out of the brunette's deep brown eyes, a tired whine escaping her throat at the contact. "Emily..." she sighs out impatiently, flexing her legs around the other woman's frame and giving her hair a gentle, yet persistent tug.

Emily Prentiss looks entirely too smug about this situation, about having JJ in this position so early in the morning, and, god the blonde is already _so_ wet and Emily's barely touching the other woman. "Shh," she soothes the blonde, her free hand drawing shapes on her stomach. "I got you," she murmurs, bumping her nose purposefully against the younger woman's clit before pulling back slightly, hooking her fingers underneath the waistband and sliding the fabric down and off JJ's legs.

The sound the blonde makes when her lips suction around her clit is simply sinful; a needy, desperate whine that chokes off into a low squeak of Emily's name as her thighs clench instinctively around her head. Carefully, slowly, the brunette pulled her legs away from her head, looping her other arm around the blonde's other thigh and pressing her flush against her mouth. Every swipe of her tongue is precise, drawing more erotic noises from deep within JJ's throat, more soft whines and choked moans falling from those soft pink lips.

With a few more insistent licks and a particularly hard nip to her inner thigh, JJ's a goner, a breathy moan of Emily's name whispered out into the room as her thighs quiver and stomach clenches.

Falling back on the bed, the younger agent brings an arm up across her eyes as she inhales and exhales shakily, still twitching in the afterglow. She can hear her blood rushing in her ear, feel her heart pounding rapidly in her chest. She inhales sharply when she feels Emily blow a stream of cool air on her sensitive clit, closing her legs at the contact. "Em..." she nearly pleads, pawing around until she grabs onto the older agent's arm and pulls her up.

Moving her arm, she goes to receive the kiss the brunette begins leaning in for before Emily ducks her head and takes a hardened nipple in between her lips, chuckling when JJ groans.

"You're terrible," the blonde grumbles with a hitched breath, hands immediately tangling in long, dark brown locks.

"Hmm, not quite the compliment to give someone who gave you multiple mind blowing orgasms," Emily teases, releasing the blonde's nipple from her mouth with a soft, audible _pop_. She props her elbow up on the bed, resting her cheek against the palm of her hand as she smiles at the younger agent.

JJ snorts quietly, rolling her eyes with a small smile. "And oh-so-modest," she teases back, leaning down and cupping Emily's face between her palms before she can reply, pressing their lips flush together in a kiss that tastes like a mix of morning breath and herself.

The brunette's hands rest just at the jut of her hipbones, sighing contently into the kiss before pulling away and leaving a series of smaller, gentler kisses against the blonde's neck. "It's early," she mumbles, laying her head down comfortably on JJ's chest as she studies the bright, neon green numbers of the bedside alarm clock.

The blonde chuckles at this, fingers twirling and playing the long, brunette strands of hair. Instead of reminding Emily that she was the one that woke her up at 5:30 in the morning, JJ plants a kiss on the brunette's forehead. "Go back to sleep, then. We have the weekend to do whatever we want."

"Sounds good," Emily mumbles, eyes fluttering shut at the feeling of JJ's fingers massaging her scalp. Her arms wrap securely around the blonde's waist as her breathing starts to even out.

JJ feels lucky she gets this, gets to see the more vulnerable, more laid back side of Emily Prentiss. It's like she's a completely different person, all mellowed out with her walls down, that tough, I-don't-give-a-shit attitude and hard stare gone. Her features are more relaxed, her muscles loose, like all her past demons are gone for the time being.

Resting back against the stack of pillows at the head of the bed with arms wrapped just as securely around the other woman, JJ allows her own eyes to shut and her breathing to mellow out. Just as she's just about out again, her phone buzzes urgently from the side table, startling her wide awake and into a seated position in one quick motion.

As a mother, a phone call or a text tone this early in the morning, no matter who the notification ended up being from, has her on high alert. She reaches for the device quickly, heart racing while her brain lists all things that could possibly be wrong with her son. She relaxes only _slightly_ when she sees that the text is not from Will, is not about Henry. Instead it's an urgent text from Hotch.

Perplexed, JJ swipes the unlock bar on her phone, swiftly typing in the numbers that indicate her son's birthday and reads over the message with a frown.

_Houston PD placed in an urgent call with Strauss requesting our help immediately. She wants the team on a plane for briefing in an hour._

Normally, cases and calls for crimes are passed through her at work, so that she could personally go over them and pick out the most urgent emergencies that the team needed to investigate immediately. Calls didn't normally go straight to the section chief and ordered to the team. If a case was a dire emergency, or the local PD specifically requested the BAU team, JJ gets the case and it's immediately a top priority.

The fact that this case went straight to Strauss and _then_ to the team made JJ's stomach twist nervously. It had to be a bad one. A real bad one.

"What is this about?"

The blonde's eyes flit from the screen up to the equally nervous and confused look of her partner, her own phone gripped in her hand. The text must have been sent out to the whole team.

JJ shrugs, sighing heavily. "Must be a bad one," is all she manages to say, to repeat outloud.

Emily gently kisses her shoulder, thumb gently rubbing circles on the younger woman's back to offer some comfort. Wordlessly, she offers her hand and leads JJ to the bathroom for a quick, shared shower, wishing (not for the first time) that the "bad guys" would let them have a break for once.


	2. two

If you asked each of the seven members of the BAU team to describe Jennifer Jareau in a few words, you would get a variety of answers: hard working, sharp shooter, fantastic mother, fierce protector, determined, persistent, a fighter, a warrior, someone that you would _not_ want to get on the wrong side of.

No one on the jet (minus one Penelope Garcia, who is on Hotch's laptop via Skype from her office in Quantico), thinks of JJ as anything close to weak. And yet when the team are being briefed on the case on their flight to Houston, it feels like everyone is walking on eggshells around JJ.

Because, of course, this case, spanning over the course of the year, had to center around three abducted and murdered children, all younger than eight years old. All boys, blonde hair, had been brutally beaten and strangled, found in dumpsters around busy parts of the city in the middle of the day. The local PD had no leads, kept running into dead ends, and had another abduction on their hands.

Of course, the last abduction happened more than 38 hours ago and the team has less than 10 to find five year old, Austin Whitland, alive. With the very limited information local PD sent their way, it didn't look too promising that he would be found.

And, of course, the first victim, Thomas Schoe, is a spitting image of little Henry LaMontange Jr, almost exactly down to the last freckle.

To JJ's credit, she's treating this case just like any other, looking over all the details without reaction. The only slightly off thing she did was linger on Thomas' picture for a few extra seconds before looking up at the laptop, listening to the technical analyst list off details about the latest abduction.

She thinks, all things considered, this case is just like any other that the team has dealt with in the past. Maybe she feels this case is a bit more personal, hits closer to home because she's a mother herself, but she's not going to let that get in the way of her work. But she notices subtle things about her team that makes her feel that they're being cautious, such as how Reid has his case file flipped to the second victim, or how Morgan has his own files held closely to him, flipping back and forth slowly between the pages. Even Rossi, who normally gives her a bit more credit, seems to be subtly hiding Thomas' picture underneath his palm, shielding his image from JJ's gaze.

The only two that seem to be giving her any sort of benefit are Hotch and Emily, which she's thankful for (though, admittedly, Hotch had asked her beforehand if she was comfortable working on such a case before the jet took off, but has since acted normal because she agreed, promised that she would be fine.)

Emily had known her better than anyone else on the team, knew subtle things about her behavior that no one else seemed to pick up on. And, while no one on the team particularly ever _wanted_ to profile each other, sometimes it just happened naturally because profiling was so engrained into their daily lives. So Emily could tell, knows when something is too much for JJ. And right now, she figures her partner is doing her best to dissociate her son from the victims, to rationalize that he's at home safe with Will, and focus all her energy and thoughts on finding Austin Whitland.

Right now, she's okay.

Garcia finishes listing off the details of the families, her grimace mirroring exactly what the rest of the team were thinking; there really was very little there for them to work with, very little connection between the families so far.

"Thanks, Garcia," Hotch says, sounding a bit dejected. With a click of the keyboard, Garcia's face disappears from the screen and Hotch looks towards his team. "As soon as we land, Morgan, you and Reid head to the coroner's. JJ, I want you and Prentiss to interview the families, see if there's anything we're missing. Dave and I will head to the latest crime scene. If the unsub sticks to his pattern, we only have ten hours to find Austin Whitland, so any information you can gather counts."


	3. three

Emily stares down at the crime scene photos, flipping through them slowly, carefully, a tension headache starting to build up at the base of her skull. Interviewing the grief-stricken parents of Thomas Schoe and Colton Haas, victim number two, had been hard, and honestly lead her no where. Both families were extremely different.

The Schoe's were well off, well respected members of the community. They attended church every Sunday, sent Thomas and his older sister, Emma, to a prestigious private school, where both parents were actively involved. The father is an experienced lawyer, the mother a house wife. No one had any ill feelings towards the family. No enemies, nothing weird had happened up until Thomas's abduction and murder.

The Haas family were a lower, middle class family of three, Colton being the oldest at eight years old. Both parents worked a 9-5 job, mother worked IT, father a manager at a local business, all three children were enrolled in public school.

The only lead she has is that both boys were abducted in relatively the same manner; both in populated areas (a mall and the park, respectively). Both mothers looked away for only a second and both boys were gone.

Morgan and Reid walk into the room, Morgan setting down an extra copy of the autopsy reports for all three deceased boys, flipping to the first page, hardly able to contain the harshness to his words as he goes over the information. "Thomas Schoe was strangled with some type of chord and the bruising suggests the unsub's abuse was more mild. Colton Haas had multiple fractures, a broken rib, and a cracked skull. There's still the same ligature marks along with bruising around his neck. Third victim, Tobias Anthony, had severe bruising covering his entire body and had multiple broken bones and fractures. There were no ligature marks, just the bruising. No signs of sexual assault on any of the victims."

"The victims all died from the trauma of their abuse," Reid adds in quietly. "The strangling all happened post mortem."

Emily runs a hand through her hair and lets out a long, hard breath at this, paling at the information. "Jesus. A lot of violence and a lot of over kill. This unsub takes a lot of anger out on these kids and then throws them out like they're trash." She sits down hard enough that her teeth clack together, causing her to wince again. "How the hell is this guy able to take these children out in the open and dispose of their bodies in the middle of the day without witnesses? How are no cameras, or bystanders, seeing anything wrong?" Her own voice has taken on a harder tone, unable to understand how anyone could be doing this to mere _children_.

"I don't know," Morgan says flatly, tossing the file in the middle of the table.

"These children are all surrogates for someone," Reid points out obviously. "They all very similar, specific appearances, which could be the main reason the abductions span out so far away from each other. The unsub is trying to recreate a loss of his own child or loved one. It could be the only way he's rationalizing the death. Or he blames this particular child for something that happened to him, which is why they're being disposed of in dumpsters instead of being buried."

All three heads turn when a door opens and the distraught mother of Tobias saunters out of the interview room, leaving behind an equally distraught husband and JJ, who looks towards the man with concern. The two speak in hushed tones before the father shakes his head, reclining back in the chair as the door falls shut again.

"How's she handling it?" Reid asks quietly, sitting down carefully beside Emily, finally tearing his eyes away from the scene in the room. Morgan seems to grow softer at this question, his own gaze curious as he faces Emily. "Is she okay?"

Emily looks between the two men, laying out all the crime scene photos neatly on the table. Her fingers tap against the wooden table as she carefully thinks how to word her next sentence. "You guys have to give her more credit," she ends up saying quietly, but bluntly. "She's a lot stronger than she was a few years ago."

"We know that," Morgan replies borderline defensively. "We're just worried about her, Prentiss. That last victim could practically be Henry's twin brother."

Reid shoots him a look at that comment; obviously this was a case that was hitting a little too close to home for everyone on the team, especially Henry's godfather (Lord only knows that Garcia was probably in a worse headspace and most likely had some cute video playing in the background to keep her from thinking of her godson in these horrific situations.)

"And I understand that," Emily assures him. "Really, I do, but she's tough. She's handling this case the best she can. We just need to let her breathe, to give her space. Don't act like she's constantly on the verge of breaking. Let her dissociate Henry from this case, and if she needs a breather, let her have it. The best we can do it just being here for her.

Hotch and Rossi swiftly come in the conference room, followed by a local officer and a pair of women, who look scared and distraught. The officer ushers the women to an empty interview room while the two senior profilers look at the team with a grimace.

"Another abduction just happened in town," Rossi tells the three. "Cali and Teresa May were walking around with their six year old son, Matthew at the local fair. Both of them got distracted by a child nearby falling down and when they turned back, Matthew was gone."

"We still have six hours to find Austin Whitland," Emily says, confused. "Why would he take another child?"

"He could be accelerating," Morgan points out, jaw locked. "Just like his killing methods, he's found a more efficient way to kidnap his victims."

"We need to accept the possibility that we are now looking for a body," Hotch informs the team. "But until we do, we need to treat both victims like they're still on a time clock, and Austin is still alive. Derek, call Garcia, see if she has any new information."

"On it," Morgan agrees, hopping out of the chair and dialing up Garcia.

"We're in for a long night," Rossi voices what others are thinking out loud, before sighing and rereading over the case files once more.

Just as the room falls silent, Morgan comes back in, setting his phone on the table in the middle. "Guys, Garcia's got something," he informs them, putting his phone on speaker. "Go ahead, Garcia."

"So, I did some digging around through whatever I could to connect these families; addresses, school records, address changes, social media accounts, court records," the technical analyst lists off quickly, the sounds of furious typing combining with her speech.

"And then, I stumbled upon some emails, court dates, appointments and found something. The Schoes and Whitlands are currently both in marriage counseling, the Anthony's have a date set for divorce court, and Jenny Hass had recently changed her status on Facebook to _separated._ All handled at different court houses and all have different therapists."

"Garcia, check and see if Theresa or Cali May have recently been divorced," Hotch tells the technical analyst.

"Uhh..." A pause. "Theresa Klem finalized her divorce with her ex husband a year ago."

"Can you run a list of divorces involving children matching the other victim's descriptions in the Houston and surrounding areas?"

Garcia clicks her tongue in dismay. "That list would most likely be massive, lovelies."

"Try narrowing the list down to mothers who have sole custody of the children," Rossi suggests.

"Ahh, the list could be smaller, but it'll take some time," Garcia admits. "I'll get to it. I also have feeds from the security cameras from the mall and the local convention hall as well as street cam footage from the park and am sending those your... way... now," she finishes, pausing the emphasize the key clacks as she forwards the files to the team and ends the call.

"The unsub blames this child for the cause of his divorce," Reid suddenly says. "That's why they're being murdered and disposed of so violently."

"You don't think it's revenge on the mother?" Morgan asks, offering up another option. "Taking away the one thing she has that the unsub doesn't?"

"The body would be handled more carefully if that were the case," JJ points out quietly. "At least buried."

"This unsub holds no remorse towards these children," Emily adds in. "Even if the father was trying to get revenge on the mother, he would still hold something for his child."

"We need to interview the Mays," Hotch says. "Dave, you and Prentiss talk to them, see if anyone in particular stood out to them. We need to watch the video feeds Garcia sent..."

"I'm on it," JJ volunteers suddenly, grabbing her own laptop.

Hotch pauses only for a second before nodding once. "Right. Reid, start assembling a geographic profile. Morgan, you and I will see if there's anything the local PD gathered from the latest abduction."

With a few squeaks of chairs and creaking of doors, the team set to work, each doing their assigned tasks. Reid uncaps a white board marker and sets to work on the map hung up for them, Rossi and Prentiss head towards the interview rooms with JJ following behind, branching off at the last second before heading into an empty room by herself, while Hotch and Morgan set off to go over the information so far with the police.

The clock on the wall ticks ominously throughout the department. The arms show the hour 5 o'clock, signaling that they had less than six hours left to find Austin Whitland.


	4. four

A soft, gentle knock against the open door has JJ moving her eyes from the bright, glowing screen of her laptop. Blinking rapidly to adjust her bleary vision, her shoulders slump at the sight of Emily leaning against the frame, two styrofoam cups of coffee in her hands. "Care for some company?"

The younger agent breathes out softly and nods, wordlessly accepting the offer. She moves some papers around, shifting her laptop towards the middle of the table. She doesn't admit it, or say it out loud, but she's glad that it's Emily that's offering her company. Ever since she (quite quickly) agreed to go over security tapes Garcia sent of three of the abductions, she's been worried it makes her seem weak, like this case is starting to affect her. 

Emily doesn't ask her questions, or pity her, just simply hands her the cup with black coffee (and after a quick taste, no sugar, just how she likes for times like this) and sits down in the chair beside her. Placing a hand on the younger agent's knee for comfort and reassurance, Emily gestures to the laptop screen with the other, "Find anything?"

Quickly giving her partner's hand a squeeze, holding on for just a few seconds before her hand falls with a small sigh. Sitting up in the chair, JJ frowns a bit, "I think so," she admits, pulling the device close once more. "Garcia pointed out the dead zones in the security feeds here, here, and here," she starts, clicking through the files and pointing to the areas she mentioned.

"All three boys head towards these areas without hesitation and then the camera never picks them up again. It's like they vanished into thin air," she continues, forming her hands together and blowing them apart to exaggerate her point. Taking a generous swig from the styrofoam cup, she turns towards the older profiler. "So that got me thinking, "Why would these kids be wondering away from their parents towards a strange man?"

"You think the unsub's a woman?" Emily asks curiously.

JJ reclines back in the chair and shakes her head, blowing out a steady stream of air. "I think these kids would know of stranger danger by now. The daycare started drilling that into Henry since he could talk. They wouldn't be so willing to go up to a strange adult; man or woman."

"But..." Emily prompts, silently encouraging her partner with another gentle squeeze to her knee.

"What if this unsub is a kid?" JJ proposes, uncapping and recapping a pen distractedly with one hand. "A teenager," she specifies.

"You think the children would walk up to a teenager they didn't know?"

"More than they would a man or a woman," JJ answers honestly. "The stranger in their minds is always an adult, but they would definitely be more trusting of someone closer to their age."

"It would explain why there would be no witnesses," Emily rationalizes.

"Everyone would be on the lookout for a man or a woman with these children," JJ confirms. "No one would even think of looking twice at a teenager and their "sibling" walking around any of these places."

"Okay, that explains the witnesses, but how would a teenager know the dead areas in the cameras."

"His parents could be a member of the city council or a maintenance worker for the cameras," JJ immediately offers. "Any job where his would have access to these feeds." She continues, "Hell, these feeds could even be online somewhere and all he would have to do is go to the right webpage to find them."

"He could be keeping the children in a place he thinks is secret," Emily comes to the conclusion. "A place he drinks or smokes with his friends, an old abandoned building, in an old basement."

She gives JJ's knee one more proud squeeze, silently praising her for what she's ultimately uncovered. Quite frankly, it's the best lead they've had since they landed.

"I think we're ready to give the profile."


	5. five

"The unsub we're looking for is a young male, most likely in his early to mid teens," Hotch starts out.

This has a lot of officers shooting the team a confused look, skeptical murmurs echoing through the group until one officer speaks up. "A teenager? You kidding me, right?"

"It actually would explain a lot," Reid comes to the defense quickly. "When a child is abducted, people are more likely on the lookout for the child with an adult man or a woman. Most wouldn't even question seeing a teenager and a child walking together, especially if they're relatively close in age. And the geographic profile would make sense. He sticks to a fifteen to twenty mile radius in," he stands up and draws a big circle on his map. "This area. He sticks to this comfort zone just because it's what he's familiar with. He has a car or is old enough to drive. This would make transporting his victims and their bodies easier."

"It also explains why the children are willing enough to go with the unsub," Morgan adds in. "They don't see him as a threat. At the very least, he's fifteen, no older than seventeen."

"He's from a recently divorced home, most likely living with one parent while the other is separated with his younger brother," JJ continues. "This was most likely done purely for the younger child's safety. When our unsub lost the real target of his anger, he turned to surrogates to fill in the role."

"How would he know the dead zones in security feeds?" another officer pipes up.

"Either one or both of his parents have had a career that revolves around the maintenance or the monitoring over these camera feeds," Emily speaks up. "Or it's entirely possible that the feeds for these security cameras are online for the public to view."

"On the dark web?" the chief of police questions.

"There's several websites on the surface web that anyone can easily access full of feeds from private cams, street cams and even web cams," JJ says.

"It's likely that the parent who has custody over our unsub is either in a relationship or got remarried," Rossi says, drawing everyone's attention back to the case. "Because this unsub is so unpredictable and violent, there's a strong chance that this unsub has a step sibling he could regularly abuse, but wouldn't kill because they don't fit the victim's description. Go back to calls on domestic disputes as far back as a year ago."

"Because the anniversary of his parent's divorce is so close, it's caused this unsub to escalate and kidnap another victim," Morgan explains. "This is more than likely going to lead to this unsub messing up and becoming sloppy."

"He's young, becoming more irrational and has never had to handle more than one child before," JJ starts to conclude. "The first mistake he makes is going to be the one that inevitably leads us to finding him."

As she finishes up, a patrol officer comes through the door, face red and breathing heavy from exertion. "We found the Whitland boy," he pants out.

The whole room falls silent at this, JJ's face becoming pale at the information, holding her breath. She barely feels Emily gripping onto her shoulder, offering her a grasp to reality. A wave of defeat seems to cover across the room like a heavy blanket, suffocating everyone underneath. Though everyone knew it would be inevitable, everyone felt like they didn't do enough for Austin Whitland. Like his death was another personal defeat on their consciences.

"He's on his way to Mercy Hospital as we speak," the patrol officer gets out in the next breath. "They got him stabilized before he went into the ambulance.

"He's alive?" JJ asks quietly, her tone hopeful.

"He's beat up pretty good," the patrol officer continues. "And they think his vocal chords were damaged, but they're pretty sure he'll make it."

The heavy feeling in the room is briefly replaced by relief before everyone remembers there's still one more child who's missing and an unstable, young unsub who's still on the loose.

Hotch looks at the team, about to order two of them to go to the hospital when Emily gently raises her hand just to her shoulder. "I'll go," she volunteers knowing that if she doesn't, JJ will want to. And, while Emily still thinks JJ is strong, is handling everything relatively okay still, she does know that seeing a boy so close to Henry in age and appearance hooked up in a hospital bed wasn't the best thing for her.

Hotch nods once in approval, gesturing to Morgan. "Morgan, head with her to the hospital. Try to see what information you can get from Austin. The rest of us will work here with the PD to find anyone matching the profile. JJ, give Garcia the profile and see if she can find anything on her end. Let's find Matthew and bring him home."  



	6. six

"He just got out of there," Mrs Whitland pleads with the two agents outside her son's hospital room. "Don't make him relive it."

"We understand that, ma'am," Emily sympathizes with the woman, her tone gentle and soft.

"If you understand, why are you here," Mr. Whitland huffs defensively. "He needs to rest to get better," he continues, ignoring his wife's quiet, sharp whisper of his name.

"Sir, we wouldn't be asking for permission to do this if we didn't think this would help us find the man that did this to your son," Morgan finally speaks up, his tone holding that same soft edge, but sounding more urgent. They had been trying to speak with the victim for the past five minutes now, and while they assumed they would have more time to find Matthew, they couldn't treat the time as if it were  
expendable.

There's silence between the four as the parents look at each other, the mother's eyes soft. "There's another boy out there and Austin could be the only way to help them find him," she says quietly, silently begging her husband to comply.

Wiping his fingers over his eyes harshly, as if warding off a headache, Mr Whitland finally sighs hard and heavy. "Okay, go talk to him. But one of us is going in there with you."

"That's fine. We'll make it quick," Emily promises, following Mrs Whitland into the room, Morgan staying outside with Mr Whitland.

While his mother takes the chair besides his hospital bed, Austin immediately grabs her hand, looking curiously between her and Emily. Mrs Whitland brushes her son's hair back with her fingers, holding on to his hand and bringing it to her lips.

"Hi, Austin. My name's Emily and I'm with the police," Emily introduces herself gently, calmly as to not scare the child. "I'm just here to ask you a few questions about what happened to you, is that okay?"

Austin looks at his mother, who nods gently in encouragement. "It's okay, baby, I'll be right here the whole time." To Emily, she says, "He can't talk, the doctors don't want him to stress his vocal chords."

Emily waits patiently at the end of the bed until finally the young boy nods. Smiling softly, she continues, "Thank you. Can you do me a favor? When I ask you a question can you nod for "yes" and shake your head for "no"?And if I ask you a question with two possible answers, can you hold up one finger for the first answer and two for the second?"

Austin nods once, understanding what the agent wants.

"Okay, good," Emily praises gently, before starting, "When the bad guy took you, did you get into a car?"

Austin nods.

"Was the drive long or short?"

The young boy thinks for a few seconds before holding up one finger.

"Did he take you to a house or into the woods?"

Seeming stuck on the particular answer, Emily adds in, "A house in the woods?" gently.

Austin holds up three fingers.

"You're doing great, Austin, just a few more questions," Emily assures the boy with another gentle smile. "Did you walk a long time or was it a short walk?"

Two fingers.

"Was there another little boy with you?"

Austin nods and looks at his mother, his hand gripped around hers tightly as he squirms uncomfortably on the bed. Emily nods once and smiles gently at him. "Okay, that's good. You did a good job." To Mrs Whitland. "Thank you for allowing us to do this," and exits the room, allowing Mr Whitland back in. He shuts the door behind him, securing the family in the room for their privacy.

"The unsub took him in a car, anywhere from twenty to thirty minutes away from where he was abducted," Emily informs Morgan as they exit the unit of the hospital. "He was held in a house in the not far into woods."

"There's a small playground in that area," Morgan recalls from the map on the wall. "Surrounded by thick woods. He would have to be pretty damn familiar with the area to navigate through them."

Back at the station, Garcia contacts JJ.

"Guys, Garcia," the blonde agent informs the rest of the team, placing her phone onto the table and on speaker. "What did you find?"

"So I narrowed down your list based on teenagers with recently divorced parents, who moved to the area within the past year with pretty lengthy records already, yikes, and have three potential hits: a Kyle Smite, 16, Jeremy Richter, 15, and Cole Duncan, 15. However, none of the parents are city workers, camera maintenance or security guards."

"Garcia, do any of them have any domestic disputes on their records?" Rossi questions.

"Uhh, negative," Garcia replies after a flurry of furious typing can be heard.

"Do any of them have younger step siblings?" Hotch asks.

"All of them," the technical analyst replies with a click of her tongue.

"Wait, can you read off those names again with addresses?" the sheriff asks Garcia, a concentrated frown on his face as she tells him the names. A look of recognition flashes as she reads off the last name. Turning to the federal agents, he begins to explain, "We've had quite a few call outs to the last boy's house; the McKnight's. We came a few times for breaking and entering and had to dispatch the ambulance several times for their daughter, Zoey. The boy came down with the mother from Seattle and had been in and out of juvenile detention centers since they moved here."

"How old is she?" Rossi asks, only slightly surprised to hear where the mother and son duo came from.

"She's twelve," the sheriff supplies. "Hershal McKnight runs a local deli down the street and his fiancée-well, wife, now- stays at home with the kids."

"Garcia, we need everything you have on Cole Duncan," Hotch informs the technical analyst. "Reid, JJ, go to the address and interview the mother if you can. Dave and I will head to the detention center and see what else we can gather on Cole."

Garcia continues on from the phone clipped to the front air conditioning vent of the SUV. "As the sheriff said back at the station, Cole Duncan moved down from Seattle with his mother, Candace, at the beginning of the year. Candace divorced her husband of 13 years two years ago and left him up in Washington with their son, Tyler, aged six at the time of the divorce, almost a year ago to the day."

"Seattle is hundreds and hundreds of miles away from Houston, why would the mother leave her young son to go and settle down with her eldest?" JJ questions, confused.

"To protect him," Reid answers. "She may have thought this was the only way that Cole wouldn't hurt Tyler anymore."

"Guys," Garcia says, tone slightly frightened as she reads off her screens. "Tyler was admitted to the hospital several times before Cole and Candace left for Texas due to a broken arm, a broken ankle, and broken ribs. CPS was called once because the neighbors reported Tyler having "finger shaped bruising" on his face and neck."

"Oh my god," she gasps suddenly, JJ's phone beeping a few seconds later with the picture of Tyler Duncan flashing on her screen. Minus a few minor freckles, Tyler Duncan matches exactly what the other murdered and kidnapped boys look like.

JJ and Reid briefly turn to look at each other, convinced they had their unsub. The blonde agent presses down on the gas, moving quickly towards the Duncan-McKnight residence.

Walking up like a synchronized duo, Reid presses the doorbell of the household, observing the area quietly at JJ's side.

"Coming!" comes the impatient reply from inside the house, the door swinging open to reveal a brunette girl, one earbud hanging from her ear and ipod in her one hand, other arm dangling in a sling, as she blankly stares at the officers. "Hi...?" she says, sounding confused.

"Hi, I'm SSA Jennifer Jareau and this is Doctor Spencer Reid," JJ introduces, holding up her federal identification and badge as she speaks. "Is your step-mother or step-brother home?"

"Why?" Zoey McKnight questions, taking the one ear bud out of her ear.

"We have some questions regarding your step brother," Reid answers.

"Cole's not home," Zoey replies, suddenly looking a bit scared. "What did he do? Did he get out?"

"Zoey, who's at the door?" Candace Duncan-McKnight asks, her voice growing closer as she comes into the room, distracted by drying off a dish. "If it's the Scientologist recruiters, tell them we're not interested."

"Candace..." Zoey starts out before the woman looks up, her smile dropping from her face at the sight of the two agents. "What's going on?" Candace asks, setting the plate down on the countertop before going over to the door.

Reintroducing herself and Reid, JJ briefly flashes her badge and ID, "Ma'am, do you know where your son, Cole is?"

Paling at the mention of her son, Candace slowly shakes her head. "I haven't seen him in a few days... What's this about?"

"Could we come inside?" Reid asks.

Nodding quickly and moving out of the way, Candace gently guides her step daughter aside for the agents to step into the house, shutting the door behind them. "What is this about?" she repeats.

"Ma'am, we believe your son is involved with a recent kidnapping and a series of murders," JJ just comes out and says, not bothering to sugar coat things.

Instead of defending her son, or yelling obscenities at the blonde agent, Candace tears up and breaks down. "Cole's always been so troubled. He always looked up websites with people's personal webcams and would watch them for hours and hours," she cries, sitting down on the couch. "He always hurt Tyler so badly, I thought if I could get him away from him, he would stop."

"I didn't want to send him away," she continues to sob. "He's still my son, but he's just so violent, and after he broke Zoey's arm, we couldn't keep him around anymore."

"He lived in state care," Zoey fills in for her step mother in a choked murmur, not sounding the least bit surprised about the mess her step-brother got into. "But he kept getting kicked out or running away and ended back here."

"Do you know where he goes when he disappears like this?" JJ prodes, sympathizing deeply with the woman, but needing answers.

Candace violently shakes her head, tears falling down her face. "I've always been too afraid to follow him."

"I do," Zoey offers timidly, raising her free, uninjured hand. "He said it was his special hiding place. He took me there once after school to show me something. He said it would be cool." The girl continues, looking green when she says, "All it was was a skinned cat. He said if I ever told Candace or dad about it he would hurt me."

"Do you remember where this place is and what it looks like?" Reid asks.

Zoey nods. "It's by Ashbury Playground. Maybe like thirty feet into the woods there's a small, concrete shelter that looks like an old shed."


	7. seven

"Ashbury Playground? We're two minutes away," Morgan says, flipping on the SUV's sirens and making a sharp turn in the directions Reid is giving him over the phone. White knuckling the handle above her seat to avoid slamming into the side of the SUV, Emily focuses out the window as the car grinds to a halt in the gravel outside of the abandoned land.

Already dressed in their bulletproof vests purely for protection, both agents hop out of the car. "Reid said head north," Morgan says, gesturing Emily to follow him as he jogs in the direction.

More sirens sound in the distance as the agents move further and further into the woods, both with their hands hovering over their guns.

A branch snapping to their left has them both immediately drawn to the area, to the sight of a teenager with scraggly blonde hair whipping his head towards them. "Cole Duncan, FBI," Morgan announces, drawing his gun (still on safety).

Cole, with dark, glazed eyes just stares back in hatred, falling to his knees and putting his hands up in the air. Morgan moves in on him to make the arrest while Emily stays back, her own gun trained on Cole until Morgan has him secured and cleared for weapons.

As Morgan leads the teen away, reading him his rights, Cole spits in Emily's direction, which she side steps to avoid. "He ruined his family. He's better off dead," he snaps, crying out in frustration when Morgan pushes against his cuffs, surging him forward.

Emily continues on into the woods, coming upon the building with her weapon still drawn. Gently pushing open the door, she does a quick sweep of the area, looking around quickly in case anyone else was there.

In the corner of the small room was little Matthew Mays, who turned away from the door as soon as it swung open, whimpering and crying. "I want my mommies," he whimpers softly.

Emily turns on the safety on her gun and holsters it, breathing out a sigh of relief. Other than some minor cuts and bruises, Matthew looks relatively unharmed. "Matthew, my name is Emily. I'm one of the good guys," she says sweetly, quietly as she kneels down to the boy's level. "He can't hurt you anymore, okay?"

Matthew looks up at the sound of Emily's voice, eyes untrusting until they catch the bold, white letters on her vest. "Can I pick you up?" she asks quietly, holding her arms out for the boy.

"I want to go home," he whimpers, lower lip trembling.

"I'm going to take you back home," Emily promises.

Matthew finally goes into the agent's arms and the two walk out to the playground, where the rest of the team, several squad cars and an ambulance waits for them.

Emily sets Matthew down in front of his two mothers, who are waiting at the ambulance. Theresa picks up her son and holds him close as Cali wraps her arms around them both, relieved that their son is safe.

Emily walks away from the scene, turning to offer JJ a smile when the younger blonde squeezes her wrist as comfort and silent praise. Making sure no one is looking, the brunette plants a kiss on top of the blonde's head, breathing in slowly, thankful that at least they saved two of the young boys, at least that Cole Duncan will be brought to justice and the other families affected by this string of terrible crimes can finally have closure and move on.

 _There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children. —_ Nelson Mandela


	8. eight

JJ rummages through her cabinets, opening up the one that contains a small rack of wine. Fingering through them, she finally settles on a bottle of white that Rossi had gifted to her the past Christmas. Uncorking the bottle with a loud _pop_ and, quite frankly not giving a fuck that it's ten in the morning, the agent pours herself a glass, hyperaware of the sound the liquid makes as it spills from the bottle and into the glass.

Securing the cork back on, she sips at the wine as she moves around the house, pausing to fix the blanket on the back of one of the couches on her way to Henry's empty room.

In the corner is the latest gift from Garcia, who had been determined to spoil little Henry LaMontange absolutely rotten from the day he could walk. Her newest purchase (and probably biggest hassle for JJ to get through the door) is an almost life size plush of the inflatable robot Baymax from the animated superhero movie _Big Hero 6_. With a press to the button on his chest, the robot would say some of his signature lines from the movie. Henry would be absolutely ecstatic to see the robot, of course, and even JJ had to admit that he was super cute, despite the difficulty getting him up the stairs and into the corner of her son's room (covered floor to ceiling in _Big Hero 6_ merch and memorabilia).

Giving the robot a parting pat on the head, she heads to her own room, flattening out Emily's freshly cleaned clothes from the other night on the bed a few times until she just gives up and shoves them into a drawer deemed Emily's long before they became partners. Sitting down on the mattress, bouncing slightly with the movement, she sighs heavily.

She's restless, determined to stay away to avoid the inevitable nightmares that would plague her mind in her sleep (especially after the last case).

She refused to sleep at the hotel the night before, opting to spend the night alone instead of wrapped in the security of Emily's embrace. The lack of sleep, combined with the jet lag, is really starting to get to her. She longs to call up the brunette agent, to spill everything that's been plaguing her since that day in the interview rooms, but refuses to bother. Emily has a life outside of her and, besides, jet lag hits the older agent harder than JJ. The blonde just wants her to rest, she deserved it.

As she rubs her eyes and takes another sip from the glass, her doorbell rings. She gets up, pouring the remainder of the glass of wine down the kitchen sink, and heads for the door. Checking the security camera footage on a tablet propped up on the side table before she answers, she's surprised to see Will carrying Henry, the child's backpack and duffel bag slung onto the man's shoulder.

She opens the door with a confused look. "Will?"

Henry, who had his eyes closed on his father's shoulder, opens them at the sound of her voice, a wide smile spreading on his face as he spots his mother. "Mommy!" he cries out, reaching for her eagerly.

Hearing him call out for her, seeing him safe and unharmed after a particularly hard case where she just barely managed to dissociate him from it hits her than she ever thought it would. Heart melting at the sound and sight, JJ barely holds in her tears as she reaches for the little boy. "Hi, baby," she greets softly, taking Henry in her arms and giving him a tight hug. She presses a kiss to the side of the child's head, looking at Will. "What are you guys doing here?"

Will shrugs, offering her a slight smile. "Ah, someone told me you just got back from a really hard case. Figured it would be good for you to see him, give you him a few days early."

"Garcia?" JJ guesses, but then presses her lips to the top of Henry's head as she realizes. "Emily." 

Will's silence is enough of a confirmation for the blonde as she nods, kissing Henry one more time before setting him down. "Go ahead and get yourself settled. I love you," Will says gently, reaching out to give his son a hug and kiss before the boy parrots his words, scampering off to the living room moments later.

"You didn't have to do this, Will," JJ says quietly, choked up on the sentiment from her current partner and her ex. "We agreed to split time 50/50."

"I wanted to," the man insists. "Besides, you deserve to see him just as much as I do. I'll see him next week."

"Thank you," JJ says emotionally, giving him a quick hug.

"It's no problem, JJ," Will replies, reciprocating her hug quickly before he steps back. "You take care now."

Taking the bags from Will, the blonde nods. "I will. I'll have him call you tonight." After a moment's pause, she adds, "Tell Sarah I said hi."

At the mention of his long term girlfriend, Will smiles and nods. "Will do." And with that, he climbs back in his car and leaves the neighborhood.

Turning back inside the house and leaving his bags by the door, JJ goes on the hunt for Henry, tickling him when he pops out from behind the doorframe and says, "Boo!" Hearing his laughs and shrieks of delight relaxes the agent for the first time in days. She can bury all her worries for now and just focus on being here with her son.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" Henry asks once he's calmed down, feeling his mother's tears on his skin. "Are you sad?"

Wiping her eyes quickly, JJ smiles down at her son. "I'm sorry. I'm just really happy to see you," she replies, holding back the next wave of her tears as to not alarm him anymore. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, mommy," Henry replies, giving JJ a big, tight hug with his little arms. "But I'm here now!" he adds in happily.

Picking him up quickly, the blonde makes a series of funny, strange noises, grinning when the little boy giggles in response. Giving his forehead a kiss, she responds, "You sure are." Adjusting her hold on the still giggling, still squirmy child, she asks, "So, what do you want to do today, little man?"

Henry leans his chin on her shoulder as he thinks, tilting his face to look at her with innocent, bright eyes and a hopeful smile to ask, "Can we please go to the playground?"

The suggestion has the blonde's stomach twisting nervously, a million ways the trip could end terribly playing like a record in her head. But she can't deny her child a simple request when he's asking so nicely and looking at her with those pleading, bright blue eyes. Besides, how would she even go about explaining that they couldn't go?

Forcing a gentle smile, JJ nods. "Sounds good. Go get your play shoes from your room, let me go get my wallet and keys and we'll walk over."

Henry, thrilled by her reply, pumps his fist up in the air with a "Yes!" and eagerly runs up to his room once his mother sets him down. Watching him bolt up the stairs, JJ grabs her keys and wallet on the counter. Twirling the keys around her finger slowly, she sighs out long and hard, trying to clear her mind of the past few days.

An excited shriek comes from upstairs, snapping her back to reality as she takes off up the stairs in three huge, bounding steps. Stopping outside of Henry's room with heart pounding, JJ observes her son bouncing up and down on his feet, pointing excitedly to the new addition to his room. "Mommy, mommy, look! It's Baymax!"

Willing herself to relax, telling herself that nothing is wrong with her son, that he's safe, the blonde inhales and smiles at Henry as he excitedly goes on about the plush figure.  
———  
JJ opens the fridge and stares at the contents in dismay: a half empty carton of eggs, a bottle half full of vanilla cold brew coffee, half empty bottles of condiments and a container of wilted spinach that she throws out after she spots it. Her freezer was no better, only containing a bag of ice and a box of Spiderman popsicles. "Take out it is then," she murmurs to herself, shutting the freezer door and peeking over at the elaborate pillow fort she and Henry had spent the majority of the afternoon constructing. The little boy is sitting at the front entrance of the fort, the last container of juice in his hand, currently fixated on coloring a picture of Mickey Mouse in a picture from a _Disney_ coloring book.

She takes a moment to just watch him carefully, sighing softly as the heavy feeling comes back in her stomach. The whole afternoon she watched him like a hawk, following him closely as he moved around the playground, holding his hand securely as they went out and got lunch at a local sandwich shop, carrying him home for a nap. She even hovered when he had FaceTimed Garcia on her phone, as he thanked her profusely for the huge plush and showed her eagerly what he could do.

"Henry, we're going to have to order take out, okay?" JJ calls over to the little boy, looking through the drawers in her kitchen until she comes across the one full of menus. "What kind of food do you want?"

"Chinese," Henry says automatically.

"Orange chicken?"

"Yes please!"

Humming to herself with a nod, the blonde looks over the menu as she decides for herself what she'll have, phone already at the ready to dial the restaurant. As she just decides on the shrimp lo mein with white rice and steamed vegetables (as a mediocre attempt to make the meal feel a _bit_ on the healthy side) for the two of them, the doorbell rings. A quick glance to the front camera footage reveals Emily standing at the door with a bag gripped in one hand. Setting her phone down and wiping her hands on her sweat pants, JJ quickly goes to answer the door.

The brunette's head snaps up at the sound of the door opening, unable to stop the smile from spreading at the sight of JJ, adjusting the grip of the small, white plush she holds underneath her free arm. "Hey."

It's almost funny, really, how Emily just seems to know certain things without meaning to. The large bag in her hand is in fact Chinese food from the exact same place the blonde was just about to call up, no doubt full of everyone's usual order. Underneath her arm is a smaller, more manageable plush of Baymax that almost looks a bit fuzzy, the stuffing acting like a slow rising memory foam because the robot expands as its adjusted.

"Hi," JJ breathes out, reaching out and grabbing the bag of food from the other woman.

"Sorry, I should have called because I didn't know if you guys ate already and I kind of showed up out of the blue," the brunette starts, flashing a sheepish grin as JJ side steps to let her in and greets her with a soft, quick kiss.

"It's okay. You don't have to tell me when you're coming over. You're always welcome here," the blonde assures her partner, setting the food down on the counter. "Henry, Emily's here!" she calls out to the little boy.

At the mention of Emily, Henry comes running in, jumping up into the brunette's arms with an excited yell of , "Emmy!", the nickname he has for her. "Hey, buddy!" Emily replies back just as enthusiastically, giving the boy a hug. "Guess what?"

"What?"

Without another word and a smile, Emily hands over the Baymax plush, a grin coming to both women's faces when his response is an enthusiastic squeal. "Mommy, look! Now I have a baby Baymax!" he shows off to JJ happily.

"Aunty Pen beat me to the present giving first, I assume?" the brunette teases, setting Henry back on the ground. He immediately runs back to his fort, plush tightly in his grasp.

"You're both spoiling my child rotten,"   
JJ accuses playfully.

"It's our job," Emily shrugs, pulling the younger agent in by the waist and giving her a proper kiss, which she immediately melts into.

It's a huge relief for JJ to have the older woman here, to have someone to ground her to reality and distract her from her thoughts. Though, as they both pull away from the kiss, she notices Emily's concerned gaze, knows that a conversation is inevitable. Because Emily can read her like an open book, knows that she's not okay, not really anyway.

"And, maybe," the blonde thinks, "Maybe it'll be good to talk it over, to have someone understand and listen without judgement."

"We'll talk later," she promises quietly, relaxing slightly when the brunette gives an understanding nod, when she presses a kiss to her forehead. "Henry, it's time to eat, buddy!" she calls out to her son.

Poking his head out from the sheets if the fort with Baymax in his grasp, he asks innocently, "Can we all eat in the fort and watch _Big Hero 6_ please?"

Turning to Emily, JJ raises an eyebrow, biting down on her lip to try (and failing) to hold back a small smile. "What do you say? Wanna join us in the pillow fort?"

"Um, I would _love_ to hang out with you guys in your _awesome_ fort!" the brunette replies with exaggerated enthusiasm, laughing when Henry excitedly hisses, "Yes!"

It's not exactly the most ideal, or quite frankly comfortable place to eat. All three of them are pressed in tightly together, even when Henry moves in front of his mother and Emily, but JJ wouldn't trade sitting six inches above the floor on a couch cushion with the two people she cares about the most, eating aromatic Chinese food and watching _Big Hero 6_ for probably the millionth time for anything in the world. It's domestic, comfortable, to have her partner pressed up comfortably at her side, her son sitting in between them both. Every so often when they think JJ's not looking, Emily sneaks Henry the button mushrooms from her own plate, knows that the brunette hates them with a passion but always orders extra in the steamed vegetables because Henry and JJ love them. Then when they're done with their food, Emily squeezes out to clean up a bit, telling the blondes to stay put until she comes back a few minutes later. Henry squeezes up and plants his head in his mother's lap, his legs tucked up at Emily's side with his Baymax plush as he stares at the inflatable hero on screen, giggling softly when Emily murmurs a line here and there.

The blonde wishes she could freeze everything around them and just live in this moment forever.

Henry falls asleep just as Baymax and Hiro find Callahan's daughter. JJ tears her watery eyes from the screen to glance down at him, which she had been doing periodically throughout the film. Looking over at Emily and seeing her in a similar position as herself, the blonde smiles teasingly. "Wait until Derek finds out that Emily Prentiss cries at Disney movies."

"Oh be quiet, you're in the same postion," the brunette shoots back, looking around for the remote and flipping the TV off. Wiping her eyes and clearing her throat, Emily leans over and kisses the younger woman's cheek. "Do you want me to get him?"

"I got him," JJ assures, crawling out of the small entrance to the fort. She takes Henry from Emily when she gently passes him over. "I'll be back."

She walks slowly up the stairs, cautious as to not wake up the sleeping child. Bumping the door open with her hip, she gently lays Henry down on his small bed, pulling the blankets over his body and giving his forehead a kiss. He sighs in his sleep, hugging the Baymax plush close to his chest before burying his head in the pillow.

The blonde sticks around for a few minutes, giving him one more kiss, murmuring, "I love you," and finally standing up, leaving his room. Her hand lingers on the door knob longer than necessary as she gathers herself, but only tears up, biting her lip to keep from crying.

She jumps when she feels Emily's hand on her back, tears springing from her eyes when their eyes lock. The brunette gives her an understanding look, gently rubbing reassuring, comforting circles with her thumb.

"I thought I could handle it," JJ starts, sniffling and looking away in shame.

Instead of a verbal response, Emily continues to rub gentle, slow circles, gently guiding her back down the stairs.

The blonde is so surprised to find the couch put back together, the blankets gone, the decorative blanket carefully laid back on the couch and two glasses half full of the same white wine she had gotten into earlier, the bottle in the middle of the table, she stops in her tracks.

"I figured if he wanted to, I could help him build it back tomorrow," Emily explains quietly.

"You didn't have to do that, Emily," JJ says just as softly, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her hoodie.

"I wanted to," the older agent insists softly, kissing the blonde's temple. "Come on," she murmurs on the skin, leading the blonde over to the couch with an arm securely around her waist.

They don't talk for a few minutes, just sit together while the occasional sniffle comes from JJ. Emily's not pressuring for information, for her to elaborate on her earlier statement. Instead, she waits patiently, her thumb now rubbing gently against the younger woman's side.

Taking a sip from her glass, JJ finally starts with, "I thought I could handle it," she repeats, a little bit louder, a bit more clearly. "And I was okay for the most part in the beginning. It was easy for me to tell myself that Henry was okay, he was safe with Will."

She pulls away from Emily to look her in the eye, her tears starting again. "When I was interviewing the families... It was like all their fears, everything that they were going through hit too close to home because their fears are my _exact_ fears."

She breaks eye contact and sniffs again, lip trembling as she goes on. "What if there's one day that comes and I'm not there to protect him? What if I'm out with him and I look away for just a split second and he's..." She breathes out shakily, sniffing and throwing her hands up in the air, slamming her palms down on her lap audibly before looking at Emily again. "What if I'm not enough to protect him? What if I can't even protect him?"

The brunette pulls the blonde into a hug, hugging her tightly as the younger woman breaks down in her arms. "You are enough, JJ," Emily soothes softly, gently caressing her face. "Hey, look at me," she murmurs, wiping the tears falling with her thumbs.

When JJ's murky eyes look up at her, the brunette starts softly, "You are one of the strongest people I know, and I believe without a doubt that you will do whatever it takes to protect that little boy up there."

"The families tried, Em, they tried to protect those boys," JJ defends, shaking her head. "My best wouldn't be enough."

"I don't know them. Not really," Emily says firmly, but softly. "Not like I know you. I know that you do anything and everything to keep Henry happy and healthy. And I know you go above and beyond to ensure that he's safe." Wiping away the remainder of the blonde's tears, the older agent concludes, "I know I can't promise or guarantee nothing bad will happen, but I do promise you that you are that boy's hero and he knows damn well that you'll protect him from anyone and anything that tries to harm him in any way, shape or form."

The younger agent's tears have slowed by this point, her head falling on Emily's shoulder softly. She feels like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders. Better.

"How do you always know exactly what to say?"

Emily drinks the remainder of her glass and kisses the top of JJ's head. "The same way you know how to be an amazing mother; it just comes naturally."

At the final part, JJ tilts her head and receives Emily's kiss, ignoring the joke mixed in with the compliment. Placing her hands on the older woman's cheeks, she pulls away and gives her a kiss on the cheek. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Emily replies just as softly, without hesitation, as if the words have been exchanged before that moment.

"Can you stay the night?" the blonde asks quietly, wanting nothing more than to spend the night securely in the other woman's arms.

Another soft, delicate kiss. "Of course."

Laying up in bed twenty minutes later with her head on Emily's chest, JJ feels at peace for the first time in days. It was a perfect way to wrap up the craziness that had happened throughout the day.

When a little knock comes from the door, she sits up and goes over, opening the door to Henry standing there sleepily with his new Baymax plush in his grasp.

"What's wrong, buddy? Did you have a nightmare?" the blonde asks in concern, kneeling down to her son's level.

His curls bounce as he shakes his head, holding the plush up to his chin. "We wanted to sleep in here with you guys!"

Scooping the little boy up and closing the door again, the two blondes both head back to the bed where Emily waits with her arms open for them both. Henry immediately goes to the middle of the bed, laying back and snuggling into the blankets. "Night, mommy. Night, Emmy," he murmurs, yawning as JJ lays back beside him.

Kissing his cheek, the blonde murmurs back, "Goodnight, baby." Reaching over for a quick, but soft kiss from Emily, JJ adds, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Emily says softly. "I love you both."

With his eyes still closed, Henry smiles. "We love you, too, Emmy."

"Now this," JJ thinks, facing her nearly sleeping son and partner with a soft, adoring smile. " _This_ is the perfect way to end the day."

_"In family life, love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and the music that brings harmony." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche_


End file.
